Renault to Develop 10,000 Kwid Per Month from March 2016

Snapshot: The French automaker would commence the exports of Kwid to Brazil from next month as SKDs (semi-knocked down units).

Renault India would ramp up the production of Kwid hatchback to 10,000 units by March 2016 at its Chennai plant. The French automaker would commence the exports of Kwid to Brazil from next month as SKDs (semi-knocked down units). Hence, the company, in an order to cater the ever-growing domestic demand and bring down the waiting period, is implementing a hike in production of Renault Kwid.

The company intends to have 5 percent market share in the Indian auto industry by 2017 end, and it has managed to achieve it upto a great extent as currently Renault's market share has reached 4.5 percent by February. And, undoubtedly, the biggest contributor in this unprecedented growth is Renault Kwid, which has registered over 1 Lakh bookings in India since its launch. Just so you know, Renault showcased the Duster facelift with AMT gearbox and 1.0L Kwid variant at the recently concluded 2016 Auto Expo and both of these would be launching this year in India.

"Right now we are making about 6,000 units (per month). We want to increase it to 8,000 units (per month) and by March we will be crossing 10,000 units. We will be making exports of Kwid to Brazil in parts starting next month. In December (2015) we had 4.5 per cent market share, then in January it was 3.8 per cent. This month we have 4.5 per cent market. We are working very hard to achieve 5 per cent market share by the second half of 2016." said Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and MD, Renault India. The company is also aiming to expand its dealership network to upto 240 by the end of 2016 from the present 205. Also, it is contemplating to increase the localization level of Duster from 70 percent to 80 percent by early 2017.